Competitive Interfacial Effects of Surfactant Chemicals on Clathrate Hydrate Particle Cohesion

Abstract

In oilfield production conditions, many chemicals are present in the form of natural surfactants that occur in the oil phase as well as additives that are injected to control the properties of the liquid phases. These additives may include low-dosage hydrate inhibitors, such as kinetic hydrate inhibitors or anti-agglomerants, corrosion or scale inhibitors, dispersants, emulsifiers, etc. To achieve slurry flow in subsea oil flowlines, the agglomeration of hydrate particles must be minimized so that small, dispersed hydrate particles are transportable rather than forming larger aggregates that may plug the flowline. While many compounds that are present in flowlines are known to affect the cohesion force between hydrate particles, each chemical is often studied separately, where no other additives are present. This study focuses on classifying the possible interactions of different classes of chemicals from the cohesion force between hydrate particles. A micromechanical force apparatus was used to measure t...